NEIGHBOURHOOD

Black buck needs better care
Disparities in upkeep of Punjab’s state animal in zoos
Gurdeep Singh Mann
Tribune News Service

Chhat (Banur), July 6
Black buck, state animal of Punjab and vehicle (vahana) of moon-goddess Chandrama, has been suffering discriminating disparities in terms of population, birth, death and male-female ratio in deer parks of Punjab. Black buck is housed in Chhat Bir (Mohali), Patiala, Ludhiana and Bathinda.

As per records of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, on its official website, the highest number of black buck is housed at the Patiala zoo, Bir Moti Bagh. But despite its highest population, figures of birth and death reported are surprisingly lower than those at the Chhat Bir zoo.

While Chhat Bir record 70 deaths in 15 years, the Patiala zoo did not report even a single death in 13 years. While the Patiala zoo, despite a high population, reported a mere 56 births in the past 15 years, Chhat Bir recorded 59 births.

The population of black buck at the Chhat Bir zoo oscillated between eight and 35 in these years. The maximum age of black buck in captivity is 16 years while it lives for 8 to 12 years in the wild.

The number of black bucks increased to 99 in 2004-2005 in Patiala, but remained static at 26 from 1995 to 2000. Its population increased to 125 past year.

All zoos recognised by the CZA are supposed to submit the population of animals or birds housed, births, deaths, disposal and acquisition, with their opening and closing stock every year.

The number of black bucks (Krishna mrig) at the start of this year at Bir Moti Bagh was 58 males, 63 females and four with gender unidentified. 
The Chhat Bir zoo had 
one male, eight females and 13 with gender unidentified, though seven males were identified recently.

The black buck population was at peak at the Chhat Bir zoo in 2004-2005, when its number increased to 35. It had earlier been at a low of eight in 1998-1999. The inventory of the CZA does not have records for three years, from 2001 to 2003, for Bir Moti Bagh.

Conservator of Forests (parks and protected areas) SS Bhatti said he could not comment on figures provided by the CZA on its official website.

“Since our offices have been shifted to the recently built building at Mohali, it will take a few days to inspect official records,” he said. He added that superintendent Naib Singh, who dealt with the issue, could clear the picture.

When contacted, Naib Singh said the CZA might have erred while uploading details. CZA member-secretary BS Bonal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

CZA evaluation and monitoring officer Brijkishore Gupta said there was no room for error or wrong reporting by the CZA as details provided by state zoos were uploaded at the official website. He added that he would look into the matter.

Workers of the liquor vend undergo treatment at the Civil Hospital in Mohali. Tribune photos: Vicky Gharu

According to reports, the assailants, who came in two cars, bought liquor bottles, but refused to make the payment, which led to a scuffle. The injured, Ashok Kumar and Inderpal Singh Chadha, were rushed to the Civil Hospital. 

Chandigarh, July 6
The UT police has booked a resident of Kajehri village for allegedly abducting a minor girl.The accused has been identified as Vinod Kumar, who is employed with a private company.

Chandigarh, July 6
City lads Sachin Kumar and Dheeranush Singh Bhatti outplayed Yuvraj Singh Raghuvanshi of Madhya Pradesh and Udayan Bhakar of Punjab in their respective matches of the boys’ (U-14) category during the ongoing CLTA-AITA National Series Tennis Tournament for Boys and Girls (U-14 and U-16) being held at the CLTA Complex and Lake Sports Complex here today.

During the pre-quarterfinal clash, Sachin defeated Yuvraj by 6-4 and 6-2, whereas Dheeranush overcame Udayan Bhakar in straight sets by 6-2 and 6-4.

In the boys’ (U-16) category, in-form player Fatehdeep Singh beat Pranav Malhotra of Delhi by 6-2 and 6-2, whereas another local player Sachin Kumar defeated SD Prajawal Dev of Karnataka in the straight sets by 6-1, 7-6 (1).

In the girls’ (U-14) category, local girl Bhavya Wadhawan defeated T Shrayashree. After giving a tough competition, T Shrayashree went down to Bhavya by 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4, whereas in another tough clash of girls’ (U-16), Snehal Umesh Mane of Maharashtra got the better of Shehnaz Singh of Delhi. Snehal defeated Shehnaz by 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Results:

Pre-quarterfinals boys (U-14): Sachin Kumar (Chandigarh) defeated Yuvraj Singh Raghuvanshi (Madhya Pradesh) 6-4, 6-2; Dheeranush Singh Bhatti (Chandigarh) defeated Udayan Bhakar (Punjab) 6-2, 6-4; Nikhil Passi (Maharashtra) defeated V Jeevan (Delhi) 6-1, 6-1; Alex Solanki (Delhi) defeated Indra Patwardhan (Maharashtra) 7-5, 6-1; Dhruv Pal (Uttarakhand) defeated Dhir Gala (Maharashtra) 6-1, 6-2; BR Nishkep (Karnataka) defeated Raswant Ravi (Tamil Nadu) 6-1, 6-3; BS Rahul (Karnataka) defeated Pranav Malhotra (Delhi) 6-3, 6-3; Param Pun (Chandigarh) defeated Shrey Gupta (Haryana) 1-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Boys (U-16): Fatehdeep Singh (Punjab) defeated Pranav Malhotra (Delhi) 6-2, 6-2; Jajbir Singh (Punjab) defeated Ranjeet Singh (Chandigarh) 6-2, 6-4; Jude Raymond (Andhra Pradesh) defeated Allen Johnson Kundan (Punjab) 6-4, 6-4; Sachin Kumar (Chandigarh) defeated SD Prajawal Dev (Karnataka) 6-1, 7-6 (1); Hardeep Singh Sandhu (Punjab) defeated Rahul Singh (Delhi) 6-2, 6-3; Gagan Sharma (Rajasthan) defeated Indra Patwardhan (Maharashtra) 6-2, 6-1; IB Akshay (Tamil Nadu) defeated Pranav Suri (Chandigarh) 6-4, 6-3; Shashank Nautiyal (Delhi) defeated Vishu Prasad (Delhi) 6-4, 6-0.

Girls (U-14): Prabhuti Singhania (Punjab) defeated Prinkle Singh (Jammu & Kashmir) 6-0, 6-0; Thanushree Palani Vale (Tamil Nadu) defeated Mansi Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) 6-1, 6-2; Zeel Desai (Gujarat) defeated Sabrina Gill (Chandigarh) 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5; Vanshika Sawhney (Delhi) defeated Aastha Malhotra (Chandigarh) 6-1, 6-1; Nandini Sharma (Punjab) defeated Rutvi Jatin Shah (Gujarat) 6-0, 6-0; Jaya Bhandari (Delhi) defeated Saranya Nagpal (Andhra Pradesh) 6-0, 6-3; Bhavya Wadhawan (Chandigarh) defeated T Shrayashree 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 ; Rashmitha Pasula Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) defeated Nandini Gupta (Andhra Pradesh) 6-1, 6-0; Isha Budwal (Madhya Pradesh) defeated Shreya Kalia (Himachal Pradesh) 6-0, 6-1; Sruta Kirti Gunuganti (Andhra Pradesh) defeated Pooja Mourya (Punjab) 6-1, 6-0; Simran Wadhwa (Delhi) defeated Aastha Babasaheb Dargude (Maharashtra) 6-2, 6-2.

Girls (U-16): Rimpledeep Kaur (Punjab) defeated A Shameema (Tamil Nadu) 6-0, 6-0; Snehal Umesh Mane (Maharashtra) defeated Shehnaz Singh (Delhi) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Himani Mor (Haryana) defeated Saranya Nagpal (Andhra Pradesh) 6-1, 6-1; Tanushree Palani Vele (Tamil Nadu) defeated Rashmitha Pasula Reddy (AP) 7-5, 6-4; Victoria Chahal (Haryana) defeated Avika Sagwal (PB) 6-2, 6-1; Bhavya Wadhawan (Chandigarh) defeated Ruivi Shah (Gujarat) 6-0, 6-0; Samriti (Delhi) defeated B Moulika Ram (AP) 6-1, 6-1; Prabhuti Singhania (Delhi) defeated Kavya Bharat (TN) 6-3, 6-3; Vanshika Sawhney (Delhi) defeated Nandini Sharma (PB) 6-3, 6-4; Anupreet Bedi (Delhi) defeated Bhawani Balakumar (Tamil Nadu) 7-6 (3), 6-3; Zeel Desai (Gujarat) defeated Nimrat Walia (Chandigarh) 6-3, 6-3; Pranjala Yadlapalli (Andhra Pradesh) defeated Charvi Saxena (Chandigarh) 6-2, 6-1; Pooja Mourya (Punjab) defeated Sambhavi Dixit (Andhra Pradesh) 6-1, 6-1; Renu Sharma (Haryana) defeated Karishma Mehta (Chd) 6-1, 6-1; Kavita Mishra (Punjab) defeated Jaya Bhandari (Delhi) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3; Riya Bhatia (Delhi) defeated Sruta Kirti Gunuganti (Andhra Pradesh) 6-1, 6-2.

Chandigarh, July 6
Rudraksh Jaswal secured the first place in the 25m freestyle event of the ongoing swimming competition being organised by the sports department, Chandigarh, at the all-weather swimming pool centre, Sector 23, here today.

The winner covered the 25m distance in 0.23.88 seconds, whereas Dhruv finished as a runner-up after covering the distance in 0.24.22 seconds. Adit Gupta secured the third place after completing the patch in 0.25.09 seconds.

In the girls’ 25m freestyle event, Kudrat Thkhar won the top honours in 0.22.67 seconds, whereas Preena Kaur secured second place in 0.25.36 seconds. Gurnoor Kaur finished third after completing the swim in 0.25.43 seconds.

Results:

Boys’ (U-10) 100m freestyle: Asav Kumar (1.21.06), Raghvansh (1.33.52), Manan Kashyap (1.53.62).

Girls’ (U-10) 100m freestyle: Jasmeet Kaur (1.30.47), Simrat Kaur (2.25.24), Muskan (2.38.40).

Boys’ (U-12) 100m freestyle: Roshan Chirag (1.13.10), Ranjut Singh (1.15.25), Shuban Aria (1.21.24).

Girls’ (U-12) 100m freestyle: Akansha Sethi (1.32.12), Anhad Kaur (1.33.23), Barkat Singh (1.47.14).

Boys’ (U-14) 100m freestyle: Tejinder Singh (1.11.02), Mukesh Trar (1.14.62), Nilesh Biswas (1.15.36).

Girls’ (U-14) 100m freestyle: Manimehtab Kaur (1.11.20), Prachi Wadhawan (1.20.29), Prabhleen Bhathal (1.35.00).

Boys’ (U-17) 100m freestyle: Ravinder Arya (0.59.17), Sahil Salvania (1.00.15), Amandeep Singh (1.03.21).

100m girls’ freestyle (U-17): Shubh Karman Dhaliwal (1.07.31), Sahibpreet Kaur (1.16.26), Sukriti Nehra (1.31.62). Singla (0.32.70), Anhat Singh (0.33.71).

25Mtr U-8) Girls Backstroke- Kudrat Takhar(0.27.36), Gurnoor Kaur(0.30.94), Parmpreet Kaur(0.33.85),

Girls’ (U-10) 50m backstroke: Jasmeet Kaur (0.47.74), Soumya Nayyar (0.54.51), Simrat Kaur (1.09.54).

Boys’ (U-14) 100m backstroke: Tejinder Singh (1.26.40), Rajaprithu Sharma (1.29.48), Abhishek Arora (1.30.72).

Boys (U-17) 100m backstroke: Mridul Punia (1.14.35), Amandeep Singh (1.15.13), Sahil Savlania (1.18.35).

Boys (U-14) 50m butterfly: Nilesh Biswas (0.44.49), Rajaprithu Sharma (0.44.62), Amtoj Singh (0.45.34).

Chandigarh, July 6
The UT education department has decided to kick off sports events with organising Pre-Subroto Sub-Junior Football (Boy) Cup from July 20 to 22 here.

The Pre-Nehru Hockey Tournament will also be organised in July in both boys and girls’ categories.

In August, the organisers has decided to organise inter-school competitions in football (U-17), chess (U-14, U-17 and U-19), judo (U-14, U-17 and U-19), tae-kwon-do (U-14, U-17, U-19), choi-kwang-do (U-19), table soccer (U-19), volleyball (U-19), throw ball (U-14, U-17, U-19), kho-kho (U-17), archery (U-14, U-17, U-19), badminton (U-14, 17, 19), carrom (U-19), fencing (U-14, 17, 19), gymnastics (U-14, 17, 19), boxing (U-14, 17, 19), roller skating (U-14, 17, 19), swimming (U-14, 17, 19), squay martial arts (U-14, 17, 19), table tennis (U-14, 17, 19), wrestling (U-14, 17, 19) and yoga (U-14, 17, 19) in both boys and girls’ 
category.

The event of girls’ wrestling (U-19), girls’ boxing (U-17, 19) and boy’s roller hockey (U-19) is also scheduled to organise in the same month. The participants should confirm their entries before July 26.

Competition for baseball (U-14, 17, 19), dodgeball (U-14,17, 19), hockey (U-14, 17, 19), handball (U-14, 17, 19), kabaddi (U-14, 17, 19), baseball (U-14, 17, 19) will be organised in September in both boys and girls’ category, whereas boys’ cricket (U-14, 16), boys and girls’ football (U-19) and inter-school competition of kho-kho is also scheduled to held in the same month.

Events of softball (U-14, 17, 19), badminton (U-19), circle kabaddi (U-19), football (U-19), karate (U-14, 17, 19), kho-kho (U-14, 17, 19), lawn tennis (U-14, 17, 19), net ball (U-14, 17, 19) are schedule for October, whereas rifle shooting and annual athletics meet will be held in the third week of November.

Chandigarh, July 6
DP Azad Cricket Academy (DPCA) got the better of CL Champs, Panchkula, to enter the final of St Stephen’s Junior Cricket (U-12) Championship being held at St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, here today.

After electing to bat first, CL Champs scored a total of 67 runs before getting all out in the allotted 25 overs. Vaibhav Mahajan contributed the most 25 runs in the team’s total. For DPCA, Anshul took four for three, whereas Arjun Aggarwal took two for 14.

In reply, DPCA achieved the target in seven overs with nine wickets in hand. Harinder scored 43 off 23 to guide the team to victory. For CL Champs, Abhisheknain took the lone wicket for 15.

Brief scores:

CL Champs: 67 all out in 25 overs (Vaibhav Mahajan 25, Shashwat 18; Anshul 4 for 3, Arjun Aggarwal 2 for 14).

DPCA: 68 for 1 in 7 overs (Harinder 43 not out, Anshul 10; Abhisheknain 1 for 15).